The Hyperloop took centre stage at the 2017 Future of Transportation World Conference Technology Forum, which was held last July in Cologne, Germany. The conference was attended by José María Berdoy, manager of Ineco’s CNES-ATM Systems Area. Autonomous vehicles, their safety and legal and technical aspects, were some of the most discussed topics along with the environmental sustainability of the future. More information on this transport system is available in our new section In Closing, on page 50 of this issue.

“We will approach the Hyperloop the same way we approached high speed”

1 Will we go from high speed to Hyperloop?

We will enjoy both technologies; they are compatible.

2 Are Spain’s engineers ready?

Of course. Spain is a leading country in transport and infrastructure and has extensive experience in PPPs, the possible model of Hyperloop One.

3 How is Ineco contributing to the Primex project?

We supported them in Amsterdam because they’re good and they submitted a good project.

4 Connect Europe and Africa… is it an economically profitable dream?

It will eventually become profitable. All revolutionary technology has transformed societies, and new businesses will even emerge.

5 And politically?

Disruptive technologies transform the world and don’t stop at political barriers. If we create these barriers, other countries will move ahead of us.

6 Now we won’t be able to look out the window…

We’ll have both options.

7 So has the revolution arrived?

It will be a reality. There are scientific companies and teams around the world investing funds and time to make it possible.

Madrid-Tangier in Hyperloop

Rocío Viñas has a degree in Law, a Diploma in Business Sciences and a Master’s in Tax Law (CEF) and has been supporting Spanish industry in international markets for 20 years. At Ineco, –where she arrived from the department of Infrastructure, Health and ICT at the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade– she has been collaborating with Primex in its participation in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge. The aim of the project is to demonstrate the economic, political and social benefits of a connection between Madrid and Tangier using Hyperloop technology. Developed by a team of more than 25 people from the University-Enterprise Foundation (FUE in Spanish), it was one of the 35 semifinalists from the more than 2,600 projects submitted, and the route between Madrid and Tangier is one of the nine selected by Hyperloop One for its international competition.

Hyperloop technology promises to add a radical twist to transportation around the world. The first tests in the United States of the capsule levitating within a vacuum tube have been so encouraging, that they are getting closer and closer each day to travel speeds of up to 1,200 kilometres per hour. The project received the support of the Ministries of Public Works and Environment, the Ministry of Transport, Housing and Infrastructure of the Region of Madrid, the Moroccan Embassy and the Al Akhawayn University.

We open this issue with the news of the contract awarded recently for the design of the new terminal at Schiphol Airport, a project that will make us a participant in the expansion of one of the most important airports in the world. This excellent news joins the announcements of the recent contracts to execute the master plan for the Dammam Airport and the expansion and rehabilitation of the Liberia airport. These international contracts reflect Ineco’s strength and competitiveness in the aeronautical sector, and are complemented by articles covering the projects and construction supervision in two airports in Cape Verde, and the feature article on the aeronautical safety studies.

In the railway sector, the cover story highlights another large project that has already been completed: the high-speed line that our experts have designed in Egypt to connect Cairo, Luxor and Hurghada. More than 1,000 kilometres in length, it is the longest section of high-speed track ever built by Ineco, only recently surpassed by the 1,500 kilometres of another similar project, the high- speed line between New Delhi and Kolkata.

The latest international contracts awarded to Ineco reflect our strength and competitiveness in the aeronautical sector

Projects such as the Indian project and this most recent project in Egypt, are enormous railway challenges that clearly demonstrate the capacity and expertise of the teams, made up of more than one hundred people who contributed to make them a reality. In total, the projects required two years of work which, in order to ensure the success of the study, involved various Egyptian public entities responsible for the implementation of the project, led by the Ministry of Transport and the National Railways of Egypt.

This study by Ineco, with the support of Adif and Renfe, exports the experience and know-how of Spanish engineering and industry in the design, construction and maintenance of high-speed lines. Experience that has pushed us to continue our participation in the development of high-performance networks, such as HS2 in the UK, in which Ineco has been awarded a new contract, projects for the installation of the ERTMS in Denmark, the railway integration works in the historic city of León, and the renovation of the San Bernardo station in Seville, all of which are described in this issue.

Lastly, we cap off this issue with a new section titled In Closing, in which our professionals tell us about the latest developments in their respective areas. In this case, we are starting with Rocío Viñas, our deputy director general of Cooperation and Innovation, who discusses the Spanish Hyperloop project. A closing that is aimed at sharing new developments in the sector with our readers.